118 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



During its sojourn in this State it frequents chiefly open 

 prairies, or wheat fields, where it nibbles the young and tender 

 blades, and corn-fields, where it feeds upon the scattered grains. 

 In California, it is so numerous in winter as to be very destruc- 

 tive to the growing wheat crop, and it is said that in the Sac- 

 ramento and San Joaquin valleys farmers often find it neces- 

 sary to employ men by the month to hunt and drive them from 

 the fields. This is most successfully accomplished by means of 

 brush hiding-places, or "blinds,"' or by approaching the flocks 

 on horseback, by the side of an ox which has been trained for 

 the purpose. 



The present species is greatly esteemed for the excellent qual- 

 ity of its flesh, which, by those who have learned to appreciate 

 it, is generally considered superior to that of any other goose. 



Genus BRANTA Scopoli. 



Branta Scop. Ann. i, Hist. Nat. 1709, 67. Type, Anas bernicla Linn. 

 Bernicla Stephens, Gen. Zool. xii, ii, 1824, 45. Type, Anas bernicla Linn. 

 Leucopareia Reich. Syst. Av. 1853, pi. ix. Type, Anser leucopsis Bechst. 

 Leucoblepharon Baied, B. N. Am. 1858, 703. Type, Anas canadensis Linn. 



Gen. Char. Serrations on edge of upper mandible visible (from the outside) only near 

 angle of the mouth, the edge (tomium) itself very slightly or not at all sinuated; otherwise 

 much like Anser, but bill and feet always black, and the head and neck also chiefly black. 



With much the same form throughout as the species of Anser, the 

 birds belonging to the genus Brcmta are distinguished by the darker 

 plumage, with the head and neck chiefly black, and the bill and 

 feet entirely deep black, at all ages. All the known species occur 

 in North America, and all but two of them in Illinois : 



Our species may be distinguished by the following characters : 



A. Head and neck black, with a somewhat triangular patch of white on each cheek, usu- 

 ally confluent underneath the head, but sometimes separated by a black stripe or 

 "isthmus" along the throat; in some specimens a white collar around the lower neck. 

 Tail, rump, and primaries brownish black; upper tail-coverts, crissum, and anal 

 region white; rest of the plumage grayish brown, lighter below, the feathers tipped 

 with paler. 

 a. Lower parts light brownish gray; white cheek-patches usually confluent on the 

 throat; white collar round lower neck usually wanting, rarely distinct. 



1. B. canadensis (proper). Larger (wing usually more than 16.00 inches, culmen 

 more than 1.75); tail-feathers usually 18-20; length about 35.00-43.00; wing 15.60- 

 21.00; culmen 1.55-2.70 ; tarsus 2.45-3.70. 



2. B. canadensis hutchinsii. Smaller (wing usually less than 16.00 inches ; culmen less 

 than 1.75); tail-feathers usually 14-16; length about 25.00-34.00; wing 14.75-17.75; 

 culmen 1.20-1.90; tarsus 2.25-3.20. 



